Automatic grooving and strip-inserting machine



S. DANIELS AUTOMATLC'AGROOVNG AND STRIP INSERTING MACHINE,

Mii-mis pkm\ v j A vn". L..

lira a y u- 50 a N 1 (D .4

u www' m m3., mm3@ E. s.,DAN1'ELs AUTGMA'TIG G'RoovING AND STRIP INSETING MACHINE' l Filed'mig. a, 1925 v 4 Sheets-Sheet'kan le 19 l 1e 28 2? 77 yg 22 Oct. 16, 1923. 1,471,246

E; s. yDANIELS AUTOMATIC GRoovING AND TR1? INSERTING MACHINE` GQAQZ. v 1,473,246 as. DANlELs AAntivols/mm1@c nooUNG AND STRIP INSERTING MAGHINE;y

-, Filedmg. e, 192s -44sheets-'sheet 4 QM; di. @Mai W otwood, thus lp ositively holdingthe panel essere@ oa. is, iena Win46 ERNEST STUART DANIELS, WASHNGTON, DISTRICT' COLUMBIA.

AUTOMATIC. GROOVNG AND STRP-INSERTING MACHINE.

[j T o all 'whom it may concern.:

Be it known that l, EnNns'r STUART DAN- ILLs, a subject of theKing of England, residv ing at'Washington, in the District of Colum will enable others skilled in the art tol which it appertains to make and use the same.

-This invention relates to machines for manufacturing Wooden shipping lcases or crates, and more particularly to machines for manufacturing the ends of packing cases for troleurn or general merchandise, for which a strong, protective and non-collapsible container may 'be required adequatelyl to protect the goods from -injury incident to.

careless and rough handling during shipment.

ln`my co-pendingapplication, Serial No. 619,304, filed Fdbruary 15, 1923, have shown an improved Ibox or packing case structure in which the end or side pieces are reinforced by cutting a groove in the ends of the same and inserting a small strip ends of the boxes together and preventing the ends from collapslng or breaking-apart,`

even though cracks or splits may occur in the Wood.'

The present `invention relates to a machine for'cutting the grooves in the ends of the boards, and for applying strips thereto, the

object of the invention being vto provide a machine which will automatically perform both of these functions. y y

The invention will first be hereinafter more particularly described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are to be taken as a part of this specification,

and then pointed out .inthe claims at the end of the description.

in said drawings, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a rear end elevation;- Fig is atop plan view; Fig. t is a longitudinal section on the line 4--4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fi 3. 1

'he invention consists enerally in the arrangement of saws or ot er cutting means v Application led August 6, 1923. Serial No. 656,122.

for grooving or kerfing the edges ofthe boards or planksy to be operated upon, the articles bein fed, one piece at a. time, to tha cutters by suitable conveying mechanism. After the cutting or kerfing operation, the grooved boards or planks are fed forward to a mechanism for applying the narrow strips to the kerfs, and after the latter operation, the completed and reinforced boX-end panels are discharged. from the machine.l

The mechanism for accomplishing'hese results includes a table 104 supported upon a suitable pedestal 11 a proper distance Vabove the floor, and this table maintainsin separated relation hoppers 12 and 13; the former containing the boards or other articles to be slotted or kerfed, while the hopper 1.3"containsA the strips to be applied to Y' the grooved' articles. As the boards or articles to be grooved are of rectangular shape, the hopper 12 will be constructed of asize properly to accommodate such articles Vstacked one upon'the` other and adapted to be withdrawn from the hopper one at a time-'by the mechanism to be hereafter described -in detail.

Journaled in suitable bearings at one end I `said chains are connected by 'a' lurality -of cross bars 19 disposed transverse y of the table at spaced intervals equal substantially to the' breadth of the boards or other articlescontain'ed in the hopper 12. The chains 16 travelwithin guides 2O arranged one -upon each side`o'each `chain on'` the upper -surface othe table, and these guides suport rests ,21 overl which the articles or cards are carried. These-rests elevate the boardsto be grooved, above the level of the table a distance substantially equal to the depth ofthe chains 16, andproperly support the boards during their passage to and through the euttin or keriing operation.

The4 grooves or ierfs to be made in the pressing against;v the guide member.

springs 30 press down upon the guides with sufficient force to maintain a yielding downedges of the boards during their-course of travel are formed by rotary cutter blades or saws 22, voppositely arranged at. either side of the path of travel of the boards..-

These cutters or saws are supported upon shafts 23,-aud the latter are mounted 1n suitable bearings formed on a slide memberv having Alongitudinal flanges adapted to slidably fit between parallel grooves or guides formed in brackets 24located beneath thetable. llach bracket is supportedv by a'pair of adjusting screws or bolts 25 threaded to sockets formed in the pedestal oi"l the table and disposed at right angles to the path of travel of the conveyor (hains 16. The shafts 23 project through .to the upper surface of the table through slots 26 disposed at right angles to the direction of travel ofthe conveyor chains, and it is obvious, therefore, that by rotating the screws 25, v the brackets 24 may be adjusted toward or away from the pedestal, and

therefore the saws 22 are adjustable toward or away from each other. This'enables the` depth of the groove to be cut in the articles is collared or swiveled at its upper end in' an interiorly .recessed bracket by which its longitudinal movement is prevented. may be rota-ted to vertically adjust the shaft 23. The upper end of said stem is provided with a hand wheel 87 forconvenience in operation, while the lower end of the same is threaded through a swiveled block 88 supported between lug portions formedat the lower part of the slide member carried'by the bracket 24.

Arranged'upon eachside of the article conveyor, parallel and (io-extensivev therewith, is a guide 27, each of which has an inwardly projecting overhanging portion 28 beneath which lthe edgesiof the boards or articles to be kerfedl are confined. These guides are :fastened upon the table by stems 29 passed through holes in the guides and.

threaded inorilices formed in a fixed part of the tableor in the surface ofthe table itself, and each of these stems has arranged' thereon an vexpansion spring 30. bearing at its upper end against a nut 31, its lower end The ward pressure upon the boards underlying theoverhanging portions 28, thus permitting the guides to yield and compensate for variations in the thickness of boards carried by the conveyor. As shown in the drawings, the cutters or saws 22 project .through suitable openings in the guides 27 so as to engage with the edges of the boards confronting the same beneath the overhanging portions'28. AOne of the guides 27 is laterally adjustable on the table, toward and away from its corresponding opposite guide,

so that boards, panels or articles of differing lengths may be accommodated in" the machine. The table 10 is provided with a plurality Vof lateral slots disposed at spaced intervals ,along the outer edge of the adjustable guide 27, through which bolts 76 extend. These bolts connect at their upper ends with outwardly vprojecting ears 77 carried by guide 27, and arefprovided on their lower end with clamp nuts 78. It is appare'nt, therefore, ,that when it is desired .to make adjustmenty of the guide 27, it is but necessary to loosen the nuts 78 andmove the guide inwardly or outwardly the desired distance, whereupon the nuts 73 are again tightened upon the bolts and the guide 27l will be held rigid.

After the-boards have been grooved or kerfed, they are delivered one at a time to the platform portion 32 subjacent the hoppers 13, where the wooden strips'are insert- `ed in the cut grooves. A spaced pair of runners 33 overlie the platform 32 and are adapted to receive and engage the groovcd boards or articles and hold the same in rigid position during the strip-inserting operatiQn. These runners are curved upwardly as at` 34 at their recept-ive ends to deflect the boards' fed toward the platform 32 bv the chains 16. Helical springs 35, en-` closing bolts 3G, which are threaded into angle bar's`37, lthe latter being carried by a rigid part ot the machine frame, are adapted to depress the runners 33.

^ A narrow hopper 13 is arranged adjacent and parallel to each grooved edge of the board as it lies upon the platform 32, and these hoppers are of such dimensions as to Vaccommodate the strips for application to the boards. These hoppers each have a feed opening in their lower ends facing toward the path of movement of the boards, through which one vat a time from each, the Strips are simultaneously released and pressed into the adjacent grooves at opposite edges of the lll) board. The 'mechanism for effecting this!` strip-inserting operation, comprises a pairitv.

of actuating members or sliding'v blocks 38 arranged one beneath the lower end of each hopper 13 and eo-operatiif'cly movable toward and awa)rv therefrom. These slides correspond approximately 1u length and thickness with the strips within thehoppers 13, and in geo Larreta their movementtoward each other, they encounter and engage the lowermost strip from.

the respective hoppers, forcing 'the samey in their continued movement from'under theV hoppers and into the opposing groove of the board resting upon the platform. The reciprocal operation'ofslides 38 is accomplished as follows: y

Each slide block "38 has secured thereto, a downwardly'extending stud-39, projecting through a slot 40 in the table or platform, the lower end of each stud-resting upon a cam wheel 41 keyed to a horizontal shaft 42 disposed transversely beneath the table. The studs 39 are guided in their reciprocal sliding movement by a rod 81 extending therethrough, said rod being held securely to the underside of the table by'brackets 82. Cams 43 are provided on cam wheels 41, the former operating against studs 39 to move the latter. alternately toward and away from each other.

In order vthat boards per surfaceof platform 32, so that a plank orboard conveyed to the platform may notl pass beyond the inner edge thereof. After` the strip-1nsertingoperation, the plate 44 is dropped below the level of the platform 32 in order that the board may be removed form the platform. To accomplish this -result, the arm 47 of the bracket is provided with a rearwardly extending arcuate arm 50, located beneath a' cam wheel 51 on the shaft 42. `The cam wheel 51 is rovided .with a cam'surface 52 which, at eac revolution of the cam, after the strip-inserting operation, moves into contact with the arouate arm 50 and causes the4 latter to. .dep press and cause the stop plate 44 to movev below the level of the platform, sothat the -completed board or panel may be removed therefrom. After the cam 52 has movedbeyond engagement with the arm 50, during which movement, the next succeeding board (impelled forward by the conveyor) has engaged and pushed the completed board or panel off the platform, the contracting spring 49 restores the bracket 46 andthe parts carried thereby, to normal position, so that the stop-plate 44 will confront the next succeeding board or panel. as it is'subsequently-pushed forward by the push-plate f-ed to the platformv 32 by the conveyr may be -properly posi-A tioned and held rigidly in' place, an adjust'- 55. It will be noted that the push-plate is not actuated until the stop-bar has returned to normal position, since the conveyor alone impels each successive board or panel forward suiliciently to expel the. preceding board from the platform before the pushplate is brought into operation.

The grooved boards cpnyged form by the chains 16, are forced into proper position `,between the oppositely disposed hoppers 13 by means of' a push plate 55. This plate -is of a llength equal approximately to the measured distance between the conveyor chains 16 (see Fig. 3)and is secured to a vertical arm portion 56, of a traveler 57, arranged subjacent platform 32. A rod orbolt 58 connects the arm 56 with the push plate 55, and an expansion'spring 59 encircling said'rod, permits the plate 55 to yield when pressure is exerted thereupon, and also allows the'push-plate to yield in compensation for slight vvariations in the width of boards or panels conveyed to the platform. The traveler 57 isg/reciprocably. mounted in depending bearings-as` shown, and extends forwardly tp a point above `the axis of' shaft 4.2. `The .forward end of said traveler is ,provided with a depending catch finger 60 riding over cam wheel 51 in the path of cam surface 52.- The vertical;- arm most position, its forward surface engaging the rear edge of a board delivered from the conveyor, causing the board to be moved with its forward edge against stop plate 44,

above referred to. As this position is reached, the catch finger 6() slips over cam surface 52, whereupon counterweight 63 will move the traveler with push plate to normal position for moving the successive grooved board to positionfor the strip-insertlom Y The entire mechanisn'i may be actuated by an ordinary belt driven from a source of power and for such purpose a pulley 65, keyed to shaft 42 is provided. A sprocket wheel 66` likewise keyed to said shaft, drives a chain 67 passing over a similar sprocket 68 secured to the conveyor driving shaft 14. Proper tension upon the chain 67 is effected by an idler 79, conveniently secured to a rigid part of the machine frame. The cutters or saws 22 are driven by belts passing over pulleys 69 keyed to the shafts 23 bellow the table 10.

A fly .wheel isjsecured to the shaft 14 and performsa two-fold function of steadyto the plat- A56 has connected thereto, one endof a cable ing the motion of the machine and providing means by which theoperator may turn the machinel over by hand Yt'or the purpose of making ary desired adjustments.

VIn operation, the spacedconnectors 19, on the conveyor chains '16, are movedhlatcrally forward to the ends of the machine and pass below hopper 12 fromwhicli a board is released by gravity, one at a time, between successive connectors. Continued movement of the conveyor causes these boards to be moved intp the cutting path of the saws 22, so that grooves or kerfs of desired breadth and depth are cut in the edges thereof.- vThereafter the boards arev carried on t'o platform 32,1with`their lrerted edges parallel with and immediately below the op'positely disposed hoppers 13, and the push plate 55 iorces these boards into proper posi*l ion. rlhe pressure exerted -upon the boards by the above mentioned runners 33 tend to hold the same in rigid position during operation of the strip-applying mechanism, and as the strip appliers move towardeach other` they engage the lowermost strip released from the respective hoppers and forcethe strips firmly in place within the opposinggroove in the board. lVhen this application has been effected, the actuating members retract. Simultaneously` the stop 'plate 44 moves below the level of the 'platform and the linished board or article is discharged from the machine by pressure thereagainst of the succeeding board, whereupon the stop-bar 44 returns to normal'position to confront the succeeding board before the push-plate 55 is actuated to move it into position for vthe strip-insertion.

It will be understood of course that va- `rious changes,and`arrangement of parts may i wish to be restricted by the appended cl-aims tothe specific structure hereinbefore shown and described.'

Having vthus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Let- .tcrs Patent of theUnited States is:

1; In a grooving and strip-inserting niachine, the combination with a table, of a hopper mounted cn said kable adapted to contain articles to be-cu, an endless continuously moving conveyor located below said hopper and adapted to remove and convey articles therefroni, means for cutting grooves in said articles while carried by said conveyor` a platform onto which the conveyor delivers, a push-bar engaging behind the delivered articles, a shifting stop-bar be` tween which and the push-bar the articles are temporarily held, oppositely` disposed strip-containing hoppers arranged adjacent to said platform in the path of travel of. articles delivered from said conveyor, means inf/'Lace for projecting strips carried by said hoppers y.toward the grooved edges of articles retained betweenr said hoppers, and means for operating said push-bar and stop-'bar' to ,per mounted on said table adapted to contain articles' to 'be cut, an endless continuously moving conveyor located below said hopper and adapted to remove and convey articles therefrom, lyieldable springapressed guide means varranged parallel with said conveyor and adapted to hold the conveyed articles rigidly ,on the conveyor during the grooving operation, means for v grooves in said articles while carried 'bysaid conveyor, a platform onto which the'con'- veyor delivers, a'puslrbar engaging behind the delivered articles a shifting stop-bar between Which and the push-bar the'arti'qles are temporarily held, oppositely disposed strip-containing hoppers arranged adjacent to said platform in the path of travel of articles delivered from said conveyor, means for projecting strips carried by saidhoppers toward the grooved edges oiZ articles retained between said hoppers, and' means for' operating said push-bar and stop-bar to hold said articles stationary during the strip-applying operation.

n a grooving and stripinserting machine, the combination with a. table, of a hopper mounted on said table adapted to contain articles to be cut, an endless continuously moving conveyor located below said hopper and adapted to remove and con -vey articles therefrom,oppositely disposed rotary adjustable cutter blades arranged adjacent to the conveyor and adapted t'o cut grooves in said articles vwhile carried by said conveyor, a. platform onto which the conveyor delivers, a push-bar engaging behind the delivered articles, a shifting stopbar between which, and the push-bar .the articles are temporarily held,'oppositely disposed strip-containing hoppers arranged adjacent to said platform in the path of travel of articles delivered from said' conveyor, means for projecting strips carried by said hoppers toward the groo'ved edges of articles retained between said hoppers, and means -tor operating said push-barand stop-bar to hold Asaid articles stationary during the strip-applying operation. 4. In a grooving and strip-inserting machine, t-he combination with a table, of a vhopper mounted on said table adapted to contain articles .to be cut, an endless continuously moving conveyor located below said hopper and adapted to remove and convey articles therefrom, oppositely disposed rotary adjustable cutter blades arranged ada cutting jacent to the conveyor and adapted to cut grooves in said articles while carried by-said conveyor, a. platform 'onto which the conveyor delivers, a yieldable push-bar engaging behind the .delivered articles, a shifting stop-bar between which and the push-bar the articles are temporarily held, oppositely dis- ,posed strip-containing hoppers arranged adjacent to said platform in the path of travel of articles delivered from said conveyor, cooperable means for projecting strips carried by said hoppers toward the grooved edges of articles retained between said hoppers, and cam actuated means for'alternately operating said push-bar and 'stop-bar to push and hold said articles stationary during the strip-applying operation.

5. In a grooving and stripinserting machine, the combination with a table, of a hopper mounted on said table adapted toA contain articles to becut, an endless continuously moving conveyor located below said hopper and adapted toremove and convey articles therefrom, oppositely disposed ro` ltary adjustable cutter. blades arranged ad-v jacent to the conveyor and adapted to simul are temporarily held, oppositely disposed strip-containing hoppers arranged adjacent said platform in the path of travel of articles `delivered from saidv conveyor, co-operable camlactuated reciprocating slide blocks for simultaneously projecting strips carried by .said hoppers toward the respective grooved edges of articles retained between said hoppers, and means for alternately operating saidV push-bar and stop-bar to push the articles into rigid position and hold saidarticles stationary `during the strip-applying operation. 7

6. In a grooving and strip-inserting machine, the combination with a table, of a hopper mounted on said table adapted to contain articles to be out, an endless continuously moving conveyor located below said hopper and adapted to remove and convey articles therefrom, yieldable springpressed guide means arranged parallel with said conveyor and adapted to hold the conveyed articles rigid on the conveyor during the grooving operation, oppositely disposed rotary adjustable cutterblades arranged adjacent the conveyor and adapted to cut grooves in said articles while carried by said conveyor,` a platform onto which the con` carried by said hopper toward the respective grooved edges of articles retained between said hoppers, yieldable spring-pressed bars 1 arrangedV between said last mentioned hoppers adapted to hold the articles rigid upon said platform, and means for alternatelyy operating said push-bar and stop-bar to push the articles into rigid position and cooperatively hold said articles stationary during the strip-applying operation.

In -testimony whereof I afiix my signature in t-he presence of two witnesses.

ERNEST STUART DANIELS. 

